The process behind the artist's large-scale portraits pairing cultural icons

Kim Dong Yoo

in coolhunting.com

by Anna Carnick

Already a household name in Asia, Korean painter Kim Dong Yoo's inaugural U.S. exhibit at NYC'sHasted Kraeutler gallery aims to introduce the artist to a new, American audience. The self-titled show features a series of large-scale paintings that, from afar, depict a single grand portrait of notables from John F. Kennedy to Michael Jackson. Upon closer inspection, however, one realizes that the work is actually comprised of hundreds of smaller portraits of other, connected figures from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna.

Interview with the artist Miru Kim

The Pig That Therefore I Am

by Anna Carnick
in coolhunting.com

Describe your state of mind while shooting the series. Was it all as you expected?

Pig eyes are remarkable. I find them more human-like than domestic pets like cats and dogs. Eye contact with them was shocking and mysterious, because their looks … were so strange and yet so familiar. The absence of human language between the pig's gaze and mine became almost insignificant when I spent hours in the pens naked. I started to distinguish some different grunts of theirs and feel their emotions on a very physical level because I had temporarily let my guard down as a civilized and rational human being.